Lynnderella A Neutral Party

So a few months ago, I would have told you that I was never going to buy any Lynnderella polishes... that her brand of crazy overrode my lemmings.  Then the crazy died down and my lemming for Salad Days just did not go away.  So when I saw a BIN listing on eBay for 3 Lynnderellas for $66 (directly from her), I cringed and then hit "buy".  LOL.  I chose 3 of my list of about 10 Lynnderellas, Salad Days, When the Moon was a Star, and today's post... A Neutral Party...

This is 2 coats of A Neutral Party over 2 coats of Essie Gym Dandy, a deep taupe from this Fall's Yogaga collection.  I also used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, one over the base color and one over the glitter.  

A Neutral Party was the one I kept waffling on in my selections.  And even after I sent my order, I was kicking myself for not ordering One Nutty Fruitcake instead (especially since it appears that it is now OOS).  However, once I put on A Neutral Party, all the kicking stopped.  I have had this on all day and I can't stop looking at my nails.  LOL.  I absolutely love it over Gym Dandy, though I can't wait to wear it over darker shades, like a dark red.  

This is the first Lynnderella I have used, so I was really surprised at the myriad of glitter shapes, colors, and sizes compared to some of the other indie glitters I own.  Even with this one being a pretty simple color palette, there is a lot going on, so I will do my best to describe it.  It's a clear base loaded with golden micro-shimmer, and hex, square, and round glitter in copper, silver, gold, brown, white, and gunmetal.  There is also black bar glitter, though you can only see one in my swatch and that is slightly hidden by the flash on my ring finger.  I think my favorite thing about this polish is the square glitter, because frankly... square glitter had me at hello.  :)

A Neutral Party applied very well and I had no issues with getting the glitter on to the nail.  It also was almost completely smooth after just one coat of topcoat.  I would have done a second coat to completely even it out, but my bottle of Insta-Dri is gloopy and hard to use, so I just did the one. 

One thing I did notice is that these are a bit stinky.  When I first got them, they were very smelly, almost like Kleancolors, but after being in my house for a couple of days, that has died down somewhat, but they still smell like they are chocked full of chemicals.  I'm sure that I have lost many, many brain cells to nail polish fumes over the years, so the smell, while present, didn't really bother me while I applied this.

Current Lynnderellas are available through her eBay store for the $23 for singles and (when available) $22 each when you purchase them in multiples (the LE and "one-ofs" are auctions and go for much more).  Yes, that is crazy for nail polish, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.  :P

Lynnderella A Neutral Party was purchased by me and Essie Gym Dandy was sent to me for review.  

Duri Keep Your Options Open Spring/Summer Collection Review - Part 1

Sorry for taking a short break.  This summer break is all about trying to manage my time and at this point, I'm not doing such a good job of it.  LOL.

Anyway, today, I have for you part 1 of Duri's Spring/Summer 2012 collection.  When Duri sent out this collection, both in press releases and in samples, they broke it in to groups, Spring and Summer.  These polishes are from the "Spring" grouping and tomorrow, I will show you the "Summer" group...

Far and Away Adventures - hot, rose pink shimmer.  When I first swatched this one, I thought I wouldn't like it.  I honestly thought it was going to be a frosty mess.  However, it surprised me.  What I thought was going to be frost was actually a slight purple flash.  I really love the color, too.  I'm not sure, if I could wear it for a full manicure, but I think this would look fantastic as a summer pedicure.  The formula was fine, though I still had thin spots at 2 coats, so I applied three.  Also, while it's not a frost polish, it is apt to show brush strokes, so it's wise to go slow with this one and watch where you place your strokes.  

Necessary Luxury - light, putty grey creme.  This polish would fit nicely in the "greige" family, and is a great work-safe polish.  There is a slight lavender tone to it in the bottle, but that didn't really translate on to my nails.  Formula was fine with no issues.  3 coats.  

Off the Beaten Path - light, lilac creme.  This one is so light and airy and I think it's a perfect spring polish, though it would look just as lovely in the summer.  It's a beautiful purple with a hint of blue.  3 coats.  

Set the Mood - Milky white sheer.  The color on this one is very pretty, but I really didn't like the formula.  I can handle sheers on occasion, provided they aren't streaky (which a non-streaky sheer polish is a rare find).  This one wasn't as streaky as some I've seen, so you may be able to tame it with a sticky base coat.  I still had thin spots at 3 coats, so I'm not sure if you can reach opacity with this one.  That said, I think this would work well as a french manicure polish, provided you could control the streaks.  3 coats.  

Stay in Splendor - creamy orange creme.  This one was the color of orange creamsicles.  I think this one would look fabulous with a tan.  Formula was a little thin for me.  3 coats.  

Trust Your Instincts - light pink-lavender.  This one is the baby sister to Off the Beaten Path.  It's a super light polish, but I was able to reach opacity rather quickly.  I found the formula to be thick, yet a little runny, but it was easy to control.  2 coats.

I thought this was a really nice offering for spring.  My favorites are Off the Beaten Path, and oddly enough, Far and Away Adventures.  Be sure to check tomorrow for the second part of this collection.  

Duri polishes are available at Duri.com, as well as other online retailers and brick and mortar supply stores.  Polishes retail for $5 a bottle.

Duri Keep Your Options Open collection was sent to me for review.  The above link links to this collection on Duri's website and is not an affiliate link.

Nicole by OPI Something About Spring Collection - Pt.1 (Shimmers and Cremes)

Recently, I received Nicole by OPI's Something About Spring collection for review.  I had received the press release a couple weeks ago, and I was immediately intrigued by several of the colors, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on them.  :)  This collection is exclusively sold at Target and Target.com.  This collection is pretty much divided into 3 groups... shimmers, cremes, and glitters.  Today, I have for you the largest group, the shimmers, and the 2 cremes in the collection.  Tomorrow, I should have the remainder of the collection.

First up... the cremes.

Daffy Dill - Bright lime green creme.  This is a very pretty lime green in that it doesn't lean too yellow.  It reminds me of the Fiercely Fiona and Who the Shrek Are You? from last summer's Shrek Forever After collection, but it didn't seem quite as bold as those two.  Don't get me wrong... it's definitely in your face, but it's not day-glow.  IRL, this is one of my favorite colors.  I remember having a t-shirt this color that I wore into the ground.  LOL.  So it makes me smile, it's just a little too bold for me to wear everyday.  Application was fine, though I had to do 3 coats to reach full opacity.

Pink. Seriously. - Bright, blue-based, medium-toned pink creme.  This one isn't crazy unique, by any means, but it's so pretty.  Really pretty.  Seriously, pun intended, I think it's become one of my favorite pink cremes.  Most of my favorite pinks leans to the warm side of the color (which is an anomaly for my pink skintone), but this one is definitely blue-based, and I really like it with my skin.  I can see me wearing this one quite a bit.  Application on this one was perfect.  Pic is 2 coats.

Next is the shimmers, which themselves can be broken down into 2 categories... metallics and jelly(ish) based shimmers.

Sea How Far You Can Go - Champagne metallic shimmer.  This one was a bit of an odd duck to try and describe.  It's a bit champagne, a bit grey, and a bit taupe.  It almost reminded me of Color Club Snakeskin without the frostiness.  This is one of the 2 metallic shimmers.  Formula was fine, but it was thin (which you want to achieve a nice depth to the shimmer).  It took 4 coats to reach opacity.

Shell Me the Truth - Pale shell pink metallic base with golden shimmer.  This is the second metallic based polish in the collection and truth be told, it was a total surprise.  At first, I thought it was going to be your standard shimmery shell pink.  Then I put it on and was blown away by the amount of gold shimmer in this one.  It's overtakes the pink base, but not in a bad way.  This one reminded me somewhat of China Glaze Pink Rox-E, but unlike that one, this one I actually like.  Thing is, pinks with golden shimmer, rarely work on my skin.  This one does.  I love it, and think it's definitely one of my favorites of the collection.  Again, thin formula, but not unworkable.  4 coats.

Dandy Lion - Goldenrod jelly base with tonal shimmer.  This one has so much shimmer that it almost looks like a metallic.  It's not.  It's a jelly base that suspends the shimmer.  I really like the concept on this one, but I'm not a huge fan of the goldenrod color.  It's beautiful, but just doesn't work with my skin.  Thin formula to allow for buildable shimmer.  4 coats.

Pink-Nic in the Park - Pink jelly-ish base with pink tonal shimmer.  This one is so pretty.  It does have a slight purple color shift, but it's not a true duochrome.  I kept thinking, while I swatched it, that you pink-girls are gonna love this one.  It's so pretty for spring and would look great with navy.  Pic is 4 coats, but it was thin and buildable.

These next three shimmers are quite similar while being different colors.  They all have jelly bases and are packed with pink, blue, and purple shimmer.  FYI... I wanted to mention that while I call these and the 2 above "jellies", they are not what I consider *true* jellies because they are able to reach opacity.  However, they had the same "squishiness" of a jelly.  The were kinda similar to OPI's new sorbet finish, just they had shimmer. HTH.

Iceberg Lotus - Green-teal with pink, blue, and purple micro-shimmer.  Okay, first up... I have to mention that my picture on both this one and You're S-teal the One are not color accurate.  I tried, but my little camera just couldn't handle 'em.  :P  Honestly, if you want to see a good idea of this color... look below.  That picture is very similar to the true color of this one.  It's a really pretty green/blue shimmer (that leans more green that blue).  Like the other colors, this one was thin and buildable.  3 coats.

You're S-teal the One - Cerulean blue shimmer with pink, blue, and purple micro-shimmer.  Again... not color accurate.  It's definitely more blue than my picture shows.  It's a beautiful blue that leans a bit teal.  Pic is 3 coats.  The bottle pic on the Target website is actually very close to this one, though perhaps a bit too blue.

I'm a Pool for Your Love - deep purple jelly with blue, pink, and purple micro-shimmer.  Okay, if you are a fan of purple... run... don't walk to Target and pick this up NOW.  I knew I would love this one as soon as I saw the press release and I was not mistaken.  It's absolutely amazing.  The base is a beautiful, vampy, deep purple jelly, but what sets it apart is the gorgeous shimmer.  It practically floats in the base.  If you love purple... you need it.  Enough said.  3 coats.

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All in all, I like what I've seen so far.  I do think some of the names are a bit silly, but that's neither here nor there.  I still have to swatch the glitters, and there is one that I think is amazing, but for my money... I'm a Pool for Your Love is where it's at.  It is so fantastic.  Like Top 20 fantastic!  I've always thought of Nicole by OPI as OPI's little sister with the not-as-good colors and the funky bottles, but they are really stepping it up.  I know they've recently changed brush designs, and as I had a few straw hairs, I think they are still ironing out those kinks, but aside from that... I think these colors are all a step in the right direction, which is giving Nicole by OPI even-footing with her big sister.    

Again, these are Target exclusives and only available in Target stores and on their website.  They are in the $7 range.

These were sent to me for review

China Glaze Anchors Away Collection - Sand & Sea (Part 1)

As China Glaze Up & Away is one of my favorite collections from 2010, I've eagerly been awaiting their Spring 2011 collection.  I know there been teasers out there since last summer, so it's great to finally see it in person.

Like all regular China Glaze collections, this one was separated into two groupings.  "Sand & Sea" is the more pastel/lighter shades in the collection.

Below Deck - Purple/grey/mauve hybrid creme.  This one is supposedly as close as China Glaze could get to the old, discontinued, and much-beloved neutral, Channelesque.  I've never owned Channelesque, so I can't tell you if it's a dupe or not (check The Swatchaholic for a great bottle comp pic), but I can tell you that I absolutely LOVE Below Deck.  It's one of those colors that I can't describe to save my life, hence the above purple/grey/mauve hybrid description, but it's also fabulous.  I don't have a lot of neutrals, so Below Deck is pretty unique in my collection.  This one is a true creme, without the hidden shimmer like some of the other cremes in the collection.  The formula is perfect, as well.  It was almost opaque at one coat, though I did 2 coats.  UPDATE - The Swatchaholic now has a on-the-nail comparison up.  They look very similar.  

Knotty - Golden beige shimmer base with silver and pastel (pink, green, blue) glass-fleck shimmer.  Judging the bottle, this is one of the two in this grouping that I thought I wouldn't really like.  However, once I put it on, I found myself really liking it.  The shimmer in it is unexpected and very pretty.  Pic is 3 coats.  Formula was a little thin, but nothing unworkable. 

Pelican Grey - Light grey creme with subtle pearlescent shimmer.  Beautiful lighter grey.  The best part in this polish is the "hidden" pearly shimmer.  Usually greys give me cadaver hands, but I loved this with my skin tone.  Formula was a tad on the watery side.  Pic is 3 coats. (UPDATED - I changed my picture of Pelican Grey so it doesn't look like a dupe to Sea Spray)

Sea Spray - Light grey-blue creme with pearlescent shimmer.  Like Pelican Grey above, Sea Spray has that fantastic pearly shimmer, though it's not hidden in this polish.  Of all the polishes in this part of the collection, this one may be my favorite.  I think the name on this one is perfect.  The formula was very similar to that of Below Deck.  Pic is 2 coats, though it was very close to being a one-coater.  

Sunset Sail - Peachy nude creme with pearlescent shimmer.  Yes.  Another one with a pearlescent finish, and that's a-okay with me.  I can't get enough of these polishes with the slight-pearlescence.  Like Knotty, I really didn't see myself liking this one at all.  However, once I had it on, I fell in love with it.  It's a pretty peachy-nude that doesn't look overly-orange against my pink skin (the redness around my fingers is due to the cold and not to this polish).  Pic is 3 coats, and aside from thinness, there were no issues.

White Cap - White jelly with tons of golden glass fleck shimmer.  This one is so pretty and very unique for a non-unique concept.  I know golden-whites or white with golden shimmer are relatively common, but this one stands alone.  Due to the jelly finish, the golden shimmer is able to be suspended in the base.  Plus, it's a little on the thin side which lets you build the color and the shimmer.  Pic is 3 coats.

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I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to China Glaze collections, but I absolutely love the first 6 in this collection.  And I didn't expect myself to say that.  I thought it would seem a little lacking when compared to last year's amazing Up & Away collection.  However, dare I say that I may like Anchors Away even better?  I love that there is variety in the finishes.  Up and Away was all cremes, and fall's offering, Vintage Vixen, was all shimmers, so I love that this collection mixes it up a bit.

This collection is now available for pre-order at TransDesign, but I know several people have reported seeing it in brick and mortar beauty supply stores.  I should have part 2, Knotty Nauticals, up very soon.

These were sent to me for review

SpaRitual Review

I recently had the chance to review a few SpaRituals.  These polishes were from the Imagine and Kaleidoscope collections.  The colors are pretty straight-forward, and  I'm not feeling very wordy this morning, so I'm just going to do color descriptions on these.

Dreams Becoming Reality - Dusty teal creme.  2 coats.  Imagine collection.

Flashback - Bright red-orange neon jelly.  As it's a neon, this one dries slightly matte (which takes away from the jelly-nes.  To get it back, just apply TC).  2 coats.  Kaleidoscope collection.

Golden Gleam - Old gold metallic.  Leans slightly mustard.  2 coats.  Kaleidoscope collection.

Living in the Moment - Greige creme.  In real life, there was a slight lavender tone to this one that didn't translate in my pictures.  2 coats.  Imagine collection.

Unconditional Love - Soft rose gold metallic.  2 coats.  Imagine collection.

I found the formula on all these to be a tad on the watery side.  It wasn't hard to control, you just had to make sure you didn't have too much on your brush.  Also, I'm not a huge fan of the brush, as it seemed a little wimpy, but maybe that's me just being in a bitchy state of sleep deprivation.  :P

SpaRitual is made by the same company as Orly, though SpaRitual is their higher-priced, "boutique" line.  They have a very "body, mind, spirit" philosophy that I get, but I also think is a little hokey.  I know in some cases, SpaRitual polishes are rumored to be re-labeled Orlys (I say rumored, because I don't think there's any concrete proof on this), but in the case of the 5 I reviewed today, I think they are all unique, or at least, I don't have any Orly dupes in my collection.  

SpaRituals are available at online etailers like Apothica.com.  They are usually priced around $10.

EDITED as SpaRituals are not available for purchase on their website.

These were sent to me for review

RBL Ani

Apologies for the crappy picture.  My index finger cuticle was being a complete PITA, so I did some creative picture-taking.  :P

Okay, I don't know what has gotten into me?  First I like Zoya Megan and now I'm liking another skin-tone neutral, RBL Ani.  Maybe my husband should start looking for the pod.  :P

For some reason, Ani was one of the 3 RBLs I was lemming the most when the sale rolled around.  Ani is a warm pearlescent beige, that looks slightly darker in the bottle than it does on the nail.  I was a little nervous when I pulled it out of the box, but on the nail, I liked it much, much more.  This is one coat of Ani, and it's still a bit sheer.  It covers the nail nicely, but you can still see nail lines.  This isn't something that bothers me with Ani, because the goal all along in purchasing it was to get a sheer-ish neutral.  And in that regard, Ani is a success.  If you are someone that can't stand the look of sheers and nail lines, and applies many coats of Ani to reach opacity, you may be disappointed, as due the heavily pearlescent finish, Ani can look very frosty past one coat.  That said, I really like this worn slightly sheer.  I don't love it, but I do like it.

I know in the past, Ji has mentioned on FB that Ani was being discontinued, and in fact, Ani was one of the polishes included in the "clearance" sale earlier in the year.  However, I get the feeling that it's being kept around for good.  Ani seems to have quite the following.

Ani is available at rescuebeauty.com for $18.  You can also find it at Beauty Sak.  It's the same price as on Rescue Beauty Lounge's website, but Beauty Sak offers free shipping at $50, rather than at $100.

Zoya Megan

As you all probably know, Zoya offered a BOGO sale last week.  Due to this sale, I decided I'd finally pick up Zoya Megan, a polish I'd long wanted (simply for the name), but never purchased, as it looked so boring.  I'd seen no pictures of it, and Zoya has yet to offer a spoon, so I expected it to be a thin, streaky mess.  However, I must say... I'm pleasantly surprised. 

Zoya Megan is a pale, creamy ivory with a milky finish.  This is 3 coats of Megan, and it's still a bit sheer, though it's not at all streaky.  Okay, so it's not my normal color, but it's a good neutral and would make a great work-safe color.  It was also make a pretty base for a konad.

Jessica Muse Collection

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to try the new Muse collection from Jessica cosmetics.  This is a beautiful collection and with all the fall collections lately, I am so happy that it's less than a month away.  This one, in particular, really makes me want to break out the sweaters and jeans.

Intrigue – Greige (grey + beige) creme.  This one seems like it has some lavender in the base and it's slightly smoky.  Honestly, I don't have many of these kinds of colors, so I really don't have anything to direct-compare it to.  I did compare it to the other taupes in my collection and among that small group, it's totally unique.  This one would be a good work-safe color that will work on almost any skin tone.  Compared to the others in this collection, the formula was a bit on the thin side, but nothing too hard to work with. Pic is 3 coats.

Bittersweet – Medium-toned, yellow brown with golden shimmer.  Jessica describes this color as milk chocolate, and honestly, I think that description is a bit off.  There's far too much yellow in it to be a milk chocolate brown, IMO.  So why the description is off- the-money, the color is dead-on awesome.  In addition to the yellow and brown, there's also a hint of olive green.  It’s a beautiful color, and I can't even thing of any dupes. The formula on this was perfect. It flowed nicely on my nails. Pic is 2 coats.

Victorian Crush – True army green. I think this is probably my top pick of this collection. If you were to look up “army green” in a color dictionary, you would find this color. Like I mentioned in my Victorian Crush/RBL No More War comp from a few days ago, this color, isn’t as yellow, murky, or dirty as NMW. So if you have NMW, you can definitely pick up VC and not feel like you are getting a dupe. OTOH, if you are jonesing for NMW and want an inexpensive fix, Victorian Crush might just fill the bill. Personally, I like it better than NMW. Pic is 2 coats and the formula was perfect.

Scarlet – is a bright (and by bright, I mean BRIGHT) red crème. Because of the brightness and high shine, you’d think this one would be more of a summer red, but there is a certain warmth to it that makes it appropriate for a fall/winter collection, IMO. This one really reminds me of Zoya Kristi, though I’m pretty sure Scarlet is a tad brighter. This will make a gorgeous color for the holidays and I’m already plotting wearing it with a black or chocolate brown sweater. This one had the same great formula, but it did take 3 coats to reach opacity.

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Crimson Reflections – is one I kind of waffled on. I think I typed my description at least 4 times. In some lights, this looked like a straight-up burgundy crème, and yet in other lights, it looked like a brown-based, deep berry crème. I think if you are a fan of berry crèmes, you will love this one. Formula was great. Pic is 2 coats, though I probably could have used a third (I see a few thin spots as I type this review).

Majesty Blue – Shimmering blue with lighter blue shimmer. Okay, girls... you know me and shimmery blues, and while this one is lovely and I will definitely wear it, there was a faint frostiness in this one that, IMO, missed the mark (just a bit, it's still a beautiful color).  However, the shimmer in this one is very nice.  Of all the polishes in this collection, this one was the thickest in formula, but nothing unmanageable.  Pic is 2 coats.

All in all, I think this is amazing collection for fall/winter.  Victorian Crush is a winner, as are Bittersweet and Scarlet.  Though, there isn't a single one that I don't like.  Jessica polishes are $7.50 available on their website.

These were sent to me for review

NOTD: OPI Tickle My France-y

This is one of the colors I got when I decided I needed more work-safe colors.  Turns out, I didn't actually need the work-safe colors, as Tim was the first one to get a job, but I find it's still a good thing to have more neutral colors in my stash.

TMF is a perfect nude for me.  It has a perfect combo of pink, taupe, grey and nude.  I was a little wary of using OPI's handles and brushes with my shorties, but I need not be worried.  They were actually easier to use than some of my shorthandled brushes.  This is 2 coats, and it probably could have used a third, as I have faint VLNs, but they don't really bother me.

Again, this isn't really my kind of color, but I really like this one.  I have to go to a funeral today (Tim's grandmother passed away on Friday) and I'm glad I had this in my collection for this kind of occasion.  Most of my colors would have gotten the wrong kind of attention.

TMF is from OPI's F/W 2008 France collection.  It's still in the regular line up, however, and you can get it at TD, BS, or on eBay.